ORLANDO — The Orlando Magic fell to the Detroit Pistons on Sunday, 106-92, to drop their second-straight game. So, why did they suffer a double-digit loss? 

In the first half of Sunday’s game, the Magic were able to benefit from Detroit’s inability to hit perimeter shots. 

Orlando took a 57-50 lead into halftime after the Pistons managed to hit just one of their 18 3-point attempts. Meanwhile, the Magic had hit 38.5% of their attempts and had taken eight more free throws than Detroit. However, the Pistons were able to force the Magic into nine turnovers that they were able to convert into 10 points to help them remain within striking distance. 

By the second half, turnovers became a central theme in the Magic’s downfall.  

By the end of the third quarter, the Pistons continued to shoot poorly from beyond the arc, but Orlando simultaneously hurt itself by tacking on more turnovers. By the end of the period, the Magic had 13 turnovers for 18 points. By the end of the game, they had 19 turnovers, and the Pistons made them pay by scoring 26 points off their mistakes.  

“That's what they did,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “We talked about it before the game; showed the film. They reach, they grab, they swipe at the ball. We were too loose with it in a lot of these moments, but you've got to give Detroit a ton of credit. That's the reason why they're the number one team in the East. Because they get after it physically, they get after it defensively.” 

“We've got to do a much better job of valuing the possessions in a game like this,” Mosley added. “It's the tale of two halves. You know, we come out and play well, play hard, and then that second half, they turned up the heat; we turned it over.” 

Additionally, Orlando’s 3-point shooting regressed rapidly. Heading into the fourth quarter, Mosley’s squad was 7-24 from deep. By the end of the game, they were 10-36 from the perimeter. 

Paolo Banchero was able to lead the way for the Magic with 24 points in Sunday’s loss, but his mistakes almost outweighed his aggressiveness. 

Banchero finished the game with nine turnovers and only 10 shot attempts. The nine turnovers come after Banchero was careful with his possessions in Thursday’s loss to Houston in which he had no turnovers.  

Afterward, he talked about his displeasure with his performance. 

“I think it was a couple of bad passes,” Banchero said. “Trying to give it up to my teammates when maybe I should have just shot it.  Just a bad night. Last game I had no turnovers, this game I had 9, so pretty frustrating. 

“I mean, I only took 10 shots, so I think I could have been a lot more aggressive, could have looked to score a lot more, but I did a great job getting downhill in the first half.,” Banchero added. “In the second half, our offense just got stagnant, and I think that me having nine turnovers, it just wasn't a good enough effort by me.” 

With Franz Wagner still sidelined and Anthony Black missing his first game of the season, the onus on Tristan da Silva to provide quality minutes increased, and he delivered. 

Da Silva finished with 19 points on 8-13 shooting. He also had two steals and a blocked shot. After the game, Mosley talked about his value when he plays well. 

“You know, when he plays aggressive, started out the game aggressively — got downhill,” Mosley said. “Now they got a couple blocks at the rim, but he was not afraid to get in there.  

“Stepping into his shot with confidence, he had a great downhill attack for a lob with Dell, and that's what we're going to need because if teams are going to be loaded up on one side on Paolo and Desmond, we got to have other guys that can step in and make plays.” 

“I mean, obviously it stings,” da SIlva said. “You know, everybody's kind of – everybody kind of feels like we've been giving games away now — two in a row that we kind of had in control for a good amount of time. And it doesn't necessarily discourage us for the remainder of the season. 

“I don't think that's an issue or that's a problem. I think the guys are very locked in and very, you know, focused on the next game. And that's the biggest thing for us, just staying with the process and getting the next one.” 

The Magic return to action on Tuesday when they host the Washington Wizards. 

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